IRVING — The Cowboys played one of their most inspired
games in coach Jason Garrett’s tenure last Sunday at Cincinnati, pulling out a
last-second win to honor practice squad linebacker Jerry Brown.

Players were filled with emotion and adrenaline after Brown’s death early
Saturday morning and nose tackle Josh Brent’s arrest on an intoxication
manslaughter charge.

But now comes the next step. Sports teams often rally for a fallen teammate
and respond with ultimate effort the game after a tragedy. Getting up for the
following game has proved challenging for teams that are emotionally
drained.

The Cowboys find themselves in that daunting position Sunday against
Pittsburgh, with their playoff hopes on the line after a tough week that
included a memorial service Tuesday in Dallas to honor Brown.

“Some way, you’ve got to channel those emotions. It happened so fast that a
lot of that [Cincinnati] game was off of emotion,” Cowboys tight end Jason
Witten said. “That’s going to be a tough challenge for us. Our team is aware of
it and doing everything we can to move forward.”

Garrett said Friday that the Cowboys had good practices during the week, but
he knows that emotions are still fresh.

“We’re still in the process of working through that, that very human
situation that we went through,” Garrett said, “but at the same time, we all
have jobs to do. We have to be our best.”

Witten said the Cowboys saw how Kansas City responded to a tragedy earlier
this month and know they must find a way to overcome a letdown.

The Chiefs were reeling going into December with a 1-10 record. In
back-to-back home games to end November, the Chiefs lost both by a combined
score of 45-15.

On Dec. 1 — a Saturday morning — Kansas City linebacker Jovan Belcher shot
and killed his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins, in their home and then drove to the
Chiefs’ practice facility, where he committed suicide in the parking lot outside
the players’ entrance.

The next day, the Chiefs — three-point underdogs — upset Carolina, 27-21, for
their second victory of the season.

The next week, however, didn’t go so well for a spent Chiefs team. As
5½-point underdogs, they were routed at Cleveland, 30-7.

The Cowboys can’t afford to lose against the Steelers, no matter the score.
The Cowboys said they have to find a way to not dwell on the tragedy and focus
on beating Pittsburgh.

“It is going to be tough, but we have a solid group of guys with solid
leadership in this locker room that’s going to be able to convey that message
across to people and get us moving forward and in the right direction,” Cowboys
center Ryan Cook said. “We’re kind of coming down from remembering and the
memorial and all that stuff. It’s kind of lingering in everyone’s mind.”

No unit has been affected more by the tragedy than the defensive line, the
closest group of players on the team.

But there were positive signs Friday at Valley Ranch that the Cowboys are
starting to regain their spirits and return to some sort of normalcy.

Just before the start of practice Friday morning, defensive ends Marcus
Spears and Jason Hatcher grabbed linebacker Anthony Spencer to pose for a quick
picture. All three gave wide-mouthed smiles that have been missing from their
faces the last week. The three then grabbed defensive line coach Brian Baker for
another quick picture, with Spears and Hatcher embracing the light-hearted
moment with laughter.

“It was hard last week initially, but this week has been more upbeat,”
Hatcher said. “Guys are getting their energy back. I’m back to being me, making
people laugh, being the guy I am.”

Spears said Tuesday’s memorial service for Brown helped the team, though the
grieving process never ends.

“As men, we’re going to go through some things that are going to be rough to
get through,” Spears said, “but at the end of the day this is our job and this
is what we enjoy doing. Let’s not forget that we love playing this game, so for
the most part, everybody is focused. We’re locked in. We’re preparing the right
way and we’re still excited about playing on Sunday regardless of what happened
last week.”

Hatcher said the Cowboys will continue to play hard to honor Brown.

“At the end of the day, you got to play football, and I’m pretty sure that
Jerry, if he was here, would want us to do it, as well as Josh,” Hatcher said.
“He would want us to go out there and be the best we can for our team, and
that’s what we’re going to do.”

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